Sentence is not fair, mother says

Brenda Payton misses her son, Christopher Ferguson, who was killed last year after being struck by a car.

And the pain is made worse by the fact the man who was driving that car was fined $500 and likely faces no jail time, she said.

"He’s never even said he was sorry," she said recently. "Not once."

Earlier this month, Matthew Alwan, 25, of West Peoria was convicted after a jury trial in Peoria County traffic court of failure to give aid. The judge handed down the fine, one year of conditional discharge, or non-reporting probation, and 20 days in jail, which Alwan’s attorney Ron Hamm said could be waived if his client complies with the rules.

That, Payton said, is wrong. She believes Alwan is guilty of reckless homicide or at least aggravated driving under the influence, both felonies. She points to police reports which state that Alwan’s blood-alcohol content was nearly 0.06 percent 3½ hours after the accident.

She says he left the scene and left her son lying in the roadway "for God knows how long" before another car hit him.

Why didn’t police force him to take the test earlier, which could have shown he was drunk? Why didn’t Alwan stop to render assistance and why didn’t prosecutors press felony charges?

The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office said it looked over the case and presented it to the grand jury, normally a rubber stamp for prosecutors. The grand jury refused to indict, which resulted in the misdemeanor prosecution.

At the crux of the case is where was Ferguson, 26, that night. Alwan said he was in the middle of the road. Payton said a police officer told her that her son was on the shoulder. Testimony at a coroner’s inquest last year, however, seems to back Alwan’s statement. The death was ruled an accident at the inquest.

Making the case even more tedious is Ferguson’s blood-alcohol content was 0.232 percent, or nearly three times the state’s legal threshold for intoxication had he been driving. There was also marijuana found in his system.

According to police reports, Ferguson, a standout bowler, was on his way home from Landmark Bowling Center when he was hit by a car about 12:50 a.m. July 28, 2006. The accident occurred in the 2800 block of West War Memorial Drive, near the Brookview Apartments, and in a poorly lit area. Alwan was headed west, or toward Allen Road, when he "tried to swerve to the left to miss him but ended up striking him," according to police.

He continued driving about a quarter-mile after hitting Ferguson before finally stopping in a parking lot off Allen Road and calling 911. When asked if he stopped to check on Ferguson, he told police no, that he "freaked out" and just kept driving.

After calling police, Alwan apparently called Hamm, who told him not to take a Breathalyzer test, according to police reports and Hamm. It wasn’t until nearly 3½ hours later that he finally agreed to the test. Hamm said his client "did everything possible. He freaked out. He was so upset about the whole thing that he didn’t stop immediately but basically at the only place he could pull over."

Payton, naturally, sees it differently and said Alwan took too long to call in the accident; a statement Hamm disputes. Police reports say Alwan called in the accident minutes later; Payton says no, that he took far longer than that.

A wrongful death suit is pending now in Peoria County Circuit Court, said Dan Cusack, Payton’s attorney. It’s likely that case will take about a year before a jury hears it. It’s for that reason, Hamm said, that his client likely hasn’t spoken to Payton.